JCPOA talks meaningless unless Iran’s interests guaranteed, says senior Iranian MP

As speculation grows about the next round of negotiations to revive the US-ditched Iran nuclear agreement, a senior Iranian lawmaker says any negotiation that does not guarantee and secure the country's interests is not worth engaging in.

According to Press TV, Mahmoud Abbaszadeh-Meshkini said on Saturday,“It is self-evident that Iran’s interests must be guaranteed in any negotiation,” adding “Any negotiation that does not guarantee and secure Iran’s interests cannot be entered [by Tehran].”

Arguing for a give-and-take approach during the talks, he said in return for making concessions, Iran should gain concessions that are worth it.

Iran and the other five remaining parties to the 2015 nuclear deal, also called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), have held six rounds of talks in Austria’s capital, Vienna, to salvage the faltering agreement by bringing the US, as the violator of the deal, back into compliance.

In quitting the JCPOA in May 2018, former US President Donald Trump reinstated sanctions on Iran that had been lifted under the accord, while piling on the pressure with new bans, as the other parties failed to protect Iran’s contractual benefits.

Abbaszadeh-Meshkini maintained that Trump’s anti-Iran moves made him the “bad cop” while the European parties to the deal – France, Britain and Germany – played the “more dangerous role” of the “good cop.”

The Vienna talks were adjourned in late June as participants failed to settle unresolved points of contention, including the need to remove all US sanctions permanently and provide Iran with assurances over Washington’s compliance with the deal.

Then, Iran’s democratic transition after holding its presidential election protracted the pause.

ME